


Dark

by orphan_account



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Gen, My First Work in This Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 14:03:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16041956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Soldier doesn't like darkness. Good thing he shares a room with Pyro.





	Dark

Soldier feared nothing. Nothing! Not pain, not death, and certainly not petty little things like spiders, or snakes, or even death! Hell, even without respawn there was nothing to fear from that. They probably couldn’t even handle him in whatever world was on the other side. Old Beelzebub would probably boot Soldier back to the land of the living out of cowardice.

And he was definitely _not_ afraid of the dark, either. Those were fears for the small, weak, common man, not a proud, battle-hardened soldier like himself. No siree!

At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

Soldier lay in bed, hands gripping the top edge of his sheet. Even with his eyes wide open, he saw nothing but a deep, unending pitch black, surrounding him like a cocoon. It was an otherworldly sensation, to be practically blind like this, and Soldier did not like one bit of it. Usually, the windows at the base were big enough to let in moonlight, but Sawmill's wasn't anything like that. The only view it offered was the side of the next building.

The only sounds he could detect were his own breathing and the beat of his heart, going just a little faster than normal with nervousness. If he strained his ears, Soldier could just hear Pyro's muffled breathing from the bunk above him. He was grateful for it. If it weren't for that sound, it would be far too easy to picture himself alone, floating in an endless black void with nothing but his own frazzled mind for company.

Another sound broke the stifling darkness as Pyro shifted in the top bunk, and an idea suddenly came to Soldier.

"Hey, Pyro. Got a light?" Of course they did. Pyro practically collected lighters. There was probably one in bed with them right now. "I can't see down here."

"Mmph-udda." The bunk bed creaked as Pyro came down the ladder. Soldier heard their feet hit the floor close to his head. He looked up at where he thought Pyro's face would be, though he still couldn't see anything there.

A little flame sprang into being, spreading a warm orange glow around the little room. A copy of the lighter's fire was reflected in each lens of Pyro's mask, giving them something of a hellish look. Soldier briefly imagined the flames as their eyes.

"Don't you ever take that thing off?"

Pyro shook their head. They still wore the same suit and mask they used on the battlefield even at night, but their gloves were absent. The bare skin of their hands took on a warm, orange color in the firelight.

"Heh. Well, I wear mine too." Soldier rapped his helmet with his knuckles. "Never know when the enemy might try to kill you in your sleep like the cowardly scum they are."

"Dazz righ'." Pyro chuckled. They sat at the foot of Soldier's bed, thumb playing with the wheel of the lighter.

Soldier closed his eyes again, head turned in the direction of the flame. He could see the faintest glow of red behind his eyelids.

There a click as the lighter went off, and the bed dipped as Pyro laid down behind Soldier, mimicking the curve of his body.

Soldier didn't object to it. There was something reassuring about being able to press up against something solid and warm like Pyro. The darkness that surrounded him still felt heavy and sticky, but with Pyro there, it almost felt nice. Like a comforter around his shoulders on a cold night. It meant he wasn't floating in the void alone, at least.

Pyro put their face right up to Soldier's ear. "You're safe," they said, carefully enunciating each word to make sure they were understood. One of their bare hands settled over Soldier's side, making him flinch at the touch.

"Of course I am!" Soldier snapped. "I can take care of myself. I... I just don't like being in the dark by myself. It's a tactical disadvantage." If it were anyone else, Soldier would probably break their fingers, but he found himself unable to object to Pyro's gesture of affection — if that was what it was.

"Hmm-vuddah."

 


End file.
